Allie Mahler’s Post

Last week I had the immense privilege of being in Washington, D.C. for the first ever Child Care Innovation Summit hosted by Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo, alongside the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation teams. A huge thank you to these teams for including me and NationSwell, and so many of our incredible peers who are tirelessly working on this issue. I leave feeling inspired, and with continued momentum to roll up our sleeves and solve the enormous childcare crisis we are faced with – especially for low and middle-income families working on the front lines – but also for every family in the U.S. who spends precious time doing emotional & financial childcare calculus. A few of the key points I’m taking away: 🤝 Collaboration is crucial – we need everyone at the table to design solutions: from policymakers, to state and local governments, businesses, families, and most importantly child care providers. 🚗 Childcare is foundational and critical infrastructure. It provides overarching benefits to our economy and is a positive externality that society benefits from. If we are willing to fix roads that we drive to work, we must be wiling to fix our childcare infrastructure. (C. Kirabo Jackson, Executive Office of the President) 👩👧👧 Women are 8x more likely to have a disruption in their work over the course of their career because of childcare. (Heather Conroy, Executive Vice President, SEIU) 🧘♀️ The wellbeing of our caregivers is inextricably linked to solving our childcare crisis. (Susan Gale Perry, CEO, Child Care Aware of America) 💻 There are 58M people in America today who are not on a W2. It’s one of the fastest growing parts of the US economy. We have no safety net for them around accessibility and affordability of childcare. (Josh Silverman, CEO, Etsy) 🐻 No one wants to accept a position in a child care desert. We need a mixed delivery system for child care where workers can choose the care that best fits their family’s needs. (Candice R. Vickers MEd, MSSE, Executive Director, Family Forward Oregon) There were many bright spots and new mechanisms shared that folks are working on: a payroll tax in Vermont to cover childcare expenses (Act 76), the Tri-Share model, New Mexico guaranteeing childcare as a universal right, the Investing in Childcare for America Partnership, House Bill 4098 guaranteeing childcare near CHIPS facilities, and SO much more. I’m grateful to be in this #ChildCare work with the most generous and caring colleagues and innovators out there: Aaron Merchen, Caitlin Low, Cheryl Oldham, Liat Krawczyk, Jilly Gokalgandhi, Lisa Hamilton, Ai-jen Poo, Molly Day, Reshma Saujani, Atossa Movahedi, Nicole Riehl, Stephanie Itelman, Courtney Falato, Pierre Batton, Mel Faxon, Siran Cao, Bobby Isaacson, Jessica Chang, Olivia Rosenthal, Danelle McCusker Rees, Nando Cesarone, Jennifer Stybel, Patrice Martin, Marissa Comart (she/her), Carmi Medoff, Lindsay Jurist-Rosner + many more.

📣 Calling all parents and caregivers who are frontline, hourly, part-time, or contract workers: Through NationSwell's work on the Case for Childcare Collaborative, we're hosting 30-minute conversations through June to understand how employers can better support your caregiving responsibilities. We're compensating all selected participants for their time. If you're interested, fill out this survey & we'll be in touch. Feel free to forward along to others, as well. Thank you for all of your support on our initiative thus far! ✏https://lnkd.in/gpSB4m8Z Austen McEnaney Syd Goin Andrea Tan Amy Lee Minna Son Ananya Gouthi Jacob Lepiarz Jilly Gokalgandhi Manami S. Taylor Onderko Brooke Josebachvili

Research shows that frontline, low-wage, hourly, and gig workers are often disproportionately left out of benefits that full-time workers receive, including childcare and care benefits. We are on a mission to change this, and provide pathways for every employer – whether small or large – to play a critical role in helping families meet their basic needs, and understand the impact of childcare supports on their business model. If you're a business looking to support frontline working families, join our upcoming virtual roundtable with NationSwell on 4/18 and be a part of the conversation with a great group of employers, advocates, and nonprofits to discuss the challenges, opportunities and bright spots ahead. Feel free to reach out directly, or request an invite here: https://lnkd.in/gmbWN6PR. We'll also plan to share insights & opportunities after the session, so stay tuned. #gigworkers #frontlineworkers #employeebenefits #parentalleave #showusyourleave #childcarebenefits #caseforchildcare

As we round out #WomensHistoryMonth, I am so happy to share the news that NationSwell is updating our benefits policy, most specifically around our paid leave (parental & bereavement), re-entry, and leave coverage policies. During my first full week of working at NationSwell, I found out I was pregnant with my first daughter. I was terrified to share the news as a new employee, even with our commitment and dedication to social issues and women across the board. Over the course of my four years here, I have had two beautiful girls, now 1 and 3, and have taken two parental leaves. During my first leave, after reaching the 6 week postpartum mark (the amount of paid leave we had at the time) I was a wreck – no where near the ability to come back to work physically, mentally, or emotionally. My heart broke thinking about all of the women and parents who come back to work too soon, without the proper time or support to dedicate to their babies and growing families. Transition and recovery time matter. It became my mission to ensure we were walking the walk at NationSwell and to advocate for a new policy. I came back and while pregnant with my second daughter, enlisted fellow mother and rabble rouser, Brooke Josebachvili, and fellow research fiend, Austen McEnaney. We scoured the research on paid leave – looking at federal and state policy, looking at companies of similar size, our own member organizations’ policies, and even the timeline of recovery for babies and birthing parents (hint: it takes much longer, and even years before mothers feel fully recovered; PPA & PPD can be diagnosed up to 1+ years after birth). Our incredible executive advocate and fellow mother, Titilayo Golden, pushed to make updates to NationSwell’s policy this year on the heels of our Case for Childcare work. And the support of champions Taekia Blackwell, Shanyce Lora, Amy Lee and our founder, Greg Behrman carried us through to this moment. Our updated policy and benefits include: 16 weeks of 100% paid gender-neutral leave, 4 weeks of individualized re-entry, an employee bonus for leave coverage, unlimited DTO (which can be taken for caregiving responsibilities), 2-4 weeks of bereavement leave, and a fully remote work culture. I want to be clear that while I am so incredibly proud of this, even 16 weeks of leave isn’t enough – we need the federal government and states to step in and pass national paid leave legislation. We cannot only rely on the business community to fill the gap. If you’re curious about what you can do, Paid Leave for All is an incredible resource: https://lnkd.in/gGb-ECYd. Today, we are celebrating, but we are also still in the fight! 🎉 #ShowUsYourLeave #CaseforChildcare #FamilyBenefits

I am thrilled to share the launch of Moms First & Boston Consulting Group (BCG)'s groundbreaking report on the ROI of employer investment in childcare benefits. I had the honor of joining their teams in Washington, D.C. last night to mark the launch of this report and am inspired by the dedication, creativity, and hard data that has propelled this work forward. The Moms First team have also been incredible partners on our Case for Childcare work at NationSwell – we are all in this together. Take a look here: https://lnkd.in/ghSRG2ce Here are some of the incredible findings from their report across the 5 companies studied: 📦 UPS’s emergency onsite daycare initiative showcases their investment in their teams, contributing to a significant lift in retention rates from 69% to 96%. ⛷️ Steamboat Ski Resort's near-site child care center addresses a need in the community - 76% of working parents say it has positively impacted their careers.   🛍️ Fast Retailing offers a substantial monthly child care stipend, a key reason why 86% of participating parents are more likely to stay.   💳 Synchrony provides 60 days of backup care, resulting in a 45% reduction in unexpected absences, showing that reliable child care allows parents to show up for work.   🧵 Etsy’s child care benefits signal a caring culture - 82% of eligible parents said the benefits played a role when deciding to join the company. It’s a no-brainer for companies to foster workplaces where parents feel supported and empowered to thrive – but now we have the hard data to show for it. A huge congratulations to Molly Day, Reshma Saujani, Isabel Miranda, Orli Cotel, Emily Kos, Kelsey Clark, Danelle McCusker Rees, Morgan Bast, Marissa Comart (she/her), Dana Randell, CPA, and so many others who worked tirelessly on this report. And a huge thank you to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Aaron Merchen, Caitlin Codella Low, IOM & team for hosting the launch event. At NationSwell, we are thrilled to continue investing in research around childcare benefits for frontline, hourly, and gig workers (especially after seeing the incredible data from UPS on retention rates). If you're interested in joining us for Phase 2 of the Case for Childcare research, please reach out. Help us spread the word that #ChildCarePaysForItself. Tagging a few more amazing advocates: Sharon Neylon, Austen McEnaney, Quanic Fullard, Patrice McConnell Cromwell, Manami S., Jilly Gokalgandhi, Shayna Hetzel, Beth Bengtson, Kelly Gannon, Nicole Riehl, Siran Cao, Carmi Medoff, and SO many more.

I am so incredibly proud to share the official launch of our team’s Case for Childcare site! 🎉 Access to childcare should be a universal right, yet for many working families, it remains a luxury that they cannot afford. And, it becomes prohibitively expensive for low-income families across the U.S. who spend an average of 28% of their income on care. Over the past 1.5 years, my team and I have been working tirelessly to uncover the challenges, barriers, and opportunities for working parents in the United States, particularly working mothers and BIPOC families, who are often excluded from conversations around paid leave and childcare benefits in the workplace. We ultimately believe that every employer has a role to play in helping to alleviate and solve the childcare crisis – by creating stand-out private policies, advocating for public policy (like the Tri-Share model) at the local, state and national levels, and creating a supportive work environment for mothers, working parents, and caregivers (e.g. investing in paid leave infrastructure, flexible schedules, time-off for childcare duties, childcare stipends, education on the Child & Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC), access to a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DCFSA), hosting a ‘Working Parents & Caregivers' affinity group, and so much more). Every step counts, and nothing is too small when it comes to contributing to this growing crisis. This work is incredibly personal for me. As a working mother of a 1 and a 2 year-old, most days I find myself juggling the enormous pressure and costs of childcare – weighing the financial cost of quality care and finding backup care on days when my children are sick, or the emotional cost of working a full-time job with sick children in my home office. The fact that I can even have these options is a luxury. We need to, and can do better. I invite you to join us in this work – we are just getting started and will be focusing our next year of research on frontline, hourly, and shift workers – who are often the most marginalized in these conversations. We must build a bigger village. ➡ Visit: https://lnkd.in/dNS6z_au A HUGE thank you to the team who has been working on this alongside me: Austen McEnaney, Syd Goin, Andrea Tan, Brooke Josebachvili, Amy Lee, Greg Behrman, Marisa Ruiz Asari, Neil Oliver, Charlotte Eckstein, Celina Wong, Sey' Adem Cileli + our incredible partners from American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact (Shayna Hetzel, Sharon Neylon, Manami S., & Jilly Gokalgandhi), the Annie E. Casey Foundation (Quanic Fullard & Patrice McConnell Cromwell), NationSwell, National Domestic Workers Alliance (Kelly Gannon, Ai-jen Poo, Nicole Jorwic, Palak Shah & Heather Cronk), Pivotal Ventures, and Working for Women (Beth Bengtson) and those that have been close to this work: Moms First (Molly Day & Reshma Saujani), The Holding Co., New America & Katherine Goldstein, The Mom Project, MH WorkLife & many more.

I am thrilled and humbled to share that our work at NationSwell, and specifically our work on Collaboratives, has received recognition as a Fast Company World Changing Idea. We were named a Finalist in the Workplace category *and* Honorable Mention in the Small Business category. Building out our Collaboratives work over the past few years alongside an incredible team has been a true honor and a small way that we get to contribute to the larger collective impact and social impact movements. Our Collaborative model brings together our vast community of change makers – from corporations, philanthropies, nonprofits, and government – to mobilize and take collective action on some of the biggest issues of our time. Our current Collaboratives are looking at a myriad of issues with partners like American Family Insurance, Annie E. Casey Foundation, George Kaiser Family Foundation, National Domestic Workers Alliance, Nike, Starbucks and Working for Women on issues ranging from: the childcare crisis for low-wage earners across the United States, place-based strategies for creating economic mobility in rural and suburban communities, and the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles. Our Future of Work Collaborative, which was recognized by the FC Award, looked at accelerating inclusive hiring solutions for fast-growing green jobs. Thank you to our incredible partners at Autodesk Foundation, LinkedIn, and Workday for investing in this. A few of our key takeaways from this work live here: https://lnkd.in/g7d5EATz. Special shout-out to our incredible team + partners – Minna Son, Amy Lee, Austen Zoutewelle, Jessica Lacombe, Spencer Lucker, Kate (McElligott) Buchanan, Marc Anthony Branch, Quanic Fullard, Uyen Tieu, Greg Behrman, Sharon Neylon, Shayna Hetzel, Manami S., Julissa McWashington, Alicia Vermaele, Anthony Smith and so many more that LinkedIn won't let me tag! #WCIAwards #FCWorldChangingIdeas

Thrilled and proud to share that NationSwell is launching a Fellowship program to support young leaders (18-25 years old) passionate about creating social and environmental impact! We're looking for our first cohort of six young leaders to join the pilot program and a part-time Program Associate to join the team to help us build the experience – links and more information below. Thank you to our wonderful partner Elizabeth Churchill from American Family Insurance that has continued to champion this work, our collaborators Matt Deitsch, Isabel LoDuca, Kadison Nicole Willis and Lara Shqair who helped co-design the pilot, and my brilliant teammates at NationSwell  Minna Son, Austen Zoutewelle, LMSW, Syd Goin, Amy Lee, Jessica Lacombe, Nina Raj & Maddy Allison that are bringing this work to life. +++++++ Young leaders are not the future of social impact – they are already leading the charge on various social impact spaces. As exemplified with the March for Our Lives after the Parkland shooting and Greta Thunberg’s climate justice advocacy, young adults are at the forefront of change. NationSwell is excited to launch a program, supported by American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact, designed to enhance the skills, knowledge, & network of young social impact leaders, aged 18-25. The NS Fellows program will run from October 2022 to June 2023, and will offer participants mentorships from NationSwell’s ecosystem of experts, the opportunity to create a community of fellow leaders, and the ability to co-design the inaugural program to fit their needs and goals. NS Fellowship application: https://lnkd.in/gvqrFdbc P/T Program Associate application: https://lnkd.in/gu7cpMWE #socialimpact #future #design #leaders